Israelis are sharply divided over Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s plan to unilaterally apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley area on Israel’s eastern border, a new poll shows.
A poll conducted by the Midgam polling agency and published by Walla! on Friday shows that a narrow plurality of Israelis back unilaterally applying Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, with 35% backing the prime minister’s plan.
But nearly as many Israelis – 30% - said they opposed such a move if done unilaterally. A further 35% did not have an opinion.
Among right-wing voters, 48% back unilateral annexation, compared to 21% who opposed it and 31% who have no opinion. Among center-left voters, 20% back the move, compared to 44% who oppose it and 36% who have no opinion.
Last September, on the eve of the election for the 22nd Knesset, Netanyahu vowed that if reelected, he would unilaterally apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, and would not wait for a final status agreement to be signed with the Palestinian Authority.
While the plan was shelved after the election yielded another deadlocked Knesset, Netanyahu and his allies this week called on the center-left Blue and White party to support the move.
Gantz expressed support for the application of Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, but fell short of backing unilateral annexation, vowing instead to work to promote the extension of Israeli sovereignty with international “cooperation”.
The poll was conducted this Wednesday and Thursday, and surveyed 505 respondents via telephone and the internet, with a margin of error 4.4%.
